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Ramadan is a time when many Muslim families gather together, but when the fires in Los Angeles destroyed the only mosque in the Altadena area, it almost upended the community's ability to uphold tradition. Well, as the community prepares to celebrate the end of the holy month of Ramadan this weekend, they're finding ways to give the kids and the adults some sense of normalcy. From member station KCRW, Megan Jamerson reports.
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MEGAN JAMERSON, BYLINE: Daarina Abdus-Samad stands between two long lunch tables of kids, ranging from age 2 to 14. They are using a school's outdoor cafeteria for their mosque's iftar, the meal eaten at dusk to break fast during Ramadan.
DAARINA ABDUS-SAMAD: First of all, I want you to think of at least one good thing that you've done to help your parents.
JAMERSON: Kids aren't required to fast from dawn to dusk until they hit puberty, but they attend iftars and are encouraged by their elders to do good deeds.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #1: I took three bags of trash out.
ABDUS-SAMAD: High five. What else? Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #2: I helped my mom clean the mess.
JAMERSON: These kids are part of the mosque called Masjid Al-Taqwa. It was founded over 40 years ago by Black Muslims. Now, it's well known for being a multicultural congregation that varies between 50 to 200 people. In a normal year during Ramadan, they hold nightly community iftars at their mosque. But with their spiritual home destroyed, they've been using the facilities at a local school.
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Singing) When we eat, we say Bismillah. When we're done, we say Alhamdulillah.
JAMERSON: Throughout the evening, little bursts of joy, like this song, were intermingled with the reality that this community is still trying to heal. The Eaton Fire wasn't just devastating because they lost their mosque. Four local families can't return home because it's not safe, and another eight lost everything, including Delores Abdus-Shakoor. Her family was part of the group that founded this mosque, and now her family's home and their business are also gone.
DELORES ABDUS-SHAKOOR: It's almost like a film. It's almost unreal because life goes on. It just continues to go on.
JAMERSON: Tonight, Abdus-Shakoor is one of the adults helping prepare the mosque's children for Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan. She says this is a much-needed positive distraction. Every year, she takes donations from the congregation to buy each child one gift. Despite all the losses faced by this community, enough money was donated to continue the tradition.
ABDUS-SHAKOOR: This has been a blessing. I would love to be able to go home. I would love to be able to go to our masjid and have our community all together in the masjid. But the reality of it is that's just not how it is.
JAMERSON: The community is doing their best to observe Ramadan like they normally would. Every year, the kids paint a mural for the Eid party and decorate paper bags for Eid gifts. Right now, the kids are writing down their gift wish lists. Abdus-Shakoor says it brings her joy to see what they ask for. So she takes a peek over their shoulders.
ABDUS-SHAKOOR: If you put skinny jeans, you have to say what size. But I have to check with your mom first.
JAMERSON: The Eid celebrations and gifts that come this year are a little heavier. But being together in community during Ramadan is helping the adults and kids cope with the traumatic experience of the fires, says mom of three, Raniyah Copeland.
RANIYAH COPELAND: My kids are very scarred by the experience. Whenever there's high winds or there's something about a fire, they're very scared.
JAMERSON: She says her 11-year-old son was worried they couldn't have Ramadan or eat because the mosque was gone. She says the tragic loss has given her kids a chance to learn an important lesson about their spirituality.
COPELAND: They're seeing that it's not just about the kind of physical location, but it really is about the community. It's kind of about your spirit and your heart and that that can go anywhere with you.
JAMERSON: After Masjid Al-Taqwa's Eid celebration, they'll be looking for their next temporary home to hold weekly Friday prayers. And then, they'll be focused on rebuilding a permanent home for their mosque. For NPR News, I'm Megan Jamerson, in Altadena, California.
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